California has a reputation for being very Politically Correct. A good portion of the rest of the country views CA as being filled with tree-hugging, organic-eating, liberal-minded individuals. And while this is true for some areas in CA, in my experience most of it was NOT like that.
Now Albuquerque, this is not a city that one thinks of when you say "Politically Correct." People are more likely to think of cowboy boots, green chiles, and rednecks when they are envisioning ABQ. Though Duke City does have it's fair share of these fine upstanding citizens, it definitely leans more PC than any of the areas I lived in in CA.
Take, for example, the Farmer's Market here. Oh, wait- that's not a PC term! It is actually called a Grower's Market. Anyhow, I went there on Saturday for the first time since moving here and was looked at oddly by every single Grower because I did not bring my own bags. Yes, each stand had plastic bags stacked behind the counter. But you had to ASK for them, and then get "The Look" while they bagged your organically grown, sustainably produced purchases. 98% of the people at the market brought their own bags, and not plastic either- there were Trader Joes cloth bags, Whole Foods cloth bags, Enviro Sacs, you name it. Even several of those super-cute baskets from the movie Kitchen Confidential. I lust after those baskets, but with the amount of produce I buy at the, ahem, GROWER'S Market, I'd need 5 or so. A wagon or stroller is needed to carry all of my purchases from stand to car.
One other aspect of ABQ I am enjoying is the diversity of our neighborhood. Across the street is a family of Indian descent, next to them is a middle-eastern family (I confess to ignorance on their specific country of origin because I have not yet asked, but they served me these fantastic authentic pine-nut pies that were to die for), and next to them a Chinese family is moving in. On the street behind us is a household with two moms and two kids, and several other families of various ethnicity's that we have yet to meet. I felt like our old neighborhood in CA was a bit boring, only Caucasians and Latinos, but here our community is a delicious melting pot. I am more than happy to stir the pot and take lots of tastes!
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3 comments:
Wow, Nicole. You'd feel at home in Oakland. I have about 10 of those canvas bags in my car! Although it's still called a Farmers market, as far as I know. And you pretty much described my neighborhood; chinese across the street, Jamaican next door, African American next to them, etc. I think all the tree-hugging organic-eating PC people are in Berkeley.
Trish
A pine-nut pie? I LOVE pine nuts. I am so jealous!
It's funny - I have the same experience in Vermont that you had in California. Everyone stereotypes Vermont as latte-drinking, Volvo-driving liberals, and all I can say is, "come meet my neighbors!" It's much more about pickups and guns and ATVs where I live. My next door neighbor lived for a long time in a bus in the middle of the hundreds of acres of forest that he owned - he since upgraded to an old trailer.
I don't know Albuquerque well; I spent one very surreal afternoon there where I rode a bike 5 miles along a strip mall highway to find a pharmacy after a trip through the Southwest. I remember huge skies, white-hot sun, and everything kind of dusty and washed-out. I kind of loved it, though - it felt much more grounded than some of the other, more-touristy places in New Mexico.
That was about 15 years ago, though. It's probably a whole different town these days.
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